Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

The future happens very slowly and then all at once

tim marshall waveMy title line is from Kevin Kelly whose new book The Inevitable is about the deep trends in the next 20 years that will shape our lives. And a little reflection helps us understand that truth.

The future happens very slowly and then all at once.

First it seems outlandish, strange, unusual and possibly impossible. Then it looms over us and then it is the new normal.

None of us have seen autonomous self-driving commercial vehicles on our roads but …

The world’s first self-driving taxis arrive in Singapore this week. Uber is planning a launch in Pittsburgh soon. How long before they come to your town?

What the impact will be on business, industry, employment, city planning and personal lives? For sure it will be dramatic. It will arrive as a wild wave of change. And so – how do we prepare for that? What should we be thinking about? 

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And so to education: In terms of these dramatic waves of change: What are the implications, challenges and opportunities schools. And how do schools prepare?

Some may say:  Well – we can’t know and therefore – until we do – it should be business-as-usual. I say get your heads out of the sand. As William Gibson said – “The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.”

And what if we get it wrong? The key thing is to imagine and think about the process itself. Change is inevitable and will surprise and shock us. What is the kind of education and the kind of thinking that prepares for that? This is not about the future. It is about the now in which we live.

How must we prepare ourselves, our students and our schools?

Here are a couple of resources as starting points: Future School Thinking and Curriculum Development

Photos by Tim Marshall and Joshua Earle.

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2 thoughts on “The future happens very slowly and then all at once

  1. You nailed it.

    I wrote that post before this lunacy took such a grip/ was even on the radar which shows how fast this tsunami of nonsense has been.

    And I am sorry to hear that you feel silenced by the institutional chill. (I look at the nonsense NAIS is promoting for example.) I have heard the same from others. How dreadful is that? Teachers and educators being afraid to civilly speak their minds. What kind of society is that?

    All I can suggest is quietly to seek allies. Speak up. bBt you do not need to be a sacrificial lamb. And never feel abandoned or alone. Your support is out here. And it will grow. This tyranny cannot last foverer.

  2. Who knew that when future happens very slowly and then all at once that the change would be to destroy the very notion of reality and introduce into mainstream corporations organizations, and institutions including schools, colleges, hospitals, Amnesty international and the ACLU among so many others that what we all have is not a sex but some mystical innate “gender identity”.

    “First it seems outlandish, strange, unusual and possibly impossible. Then it looms over us and then it is the new normal.” normal for some but I will never accept this nonsense that is doing so much harm to kids. So – it may seems normal now but surely we will come back to our senses. Perhaps when the pain of those kids as they grow up to se what they have done to themselves while their teachers and doctors and media people and celebrities stayed silent and were complicit. maybe them or their lawsuits will turn back tide tide of anti-women, anti-science evil.

    And of course I am not using my name. I know how this works. People speak up and you risk the hordes descending on you calling you fascist and nazi and transphobic hater. And worrying about your job and just because you have a different opinion. And no, I am not making this up. The world of education has lost its mind.

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